1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an article storage facility which includes an article storage rack having a plurality of storage units for storing articles with the storage units being arranged in a rack vertical direction and in a rack lateral width direction, and a vertically movable work platform configured to move vertically between a retreat height, and a work height in the rack vertical direction in a travel space located forwardly of the article storage rack.
2. Description of the Related Art
In this type of article storage facility, a worker lowers the vertically movable work platform to the height at which the worker performs work and gets on the platform. And the maintenance work is done to the article storage shelf from this vertically movable work platform. Thus, the facility is configured such as to facilitate the maintenance work at an elevated position in the article storage shelf. The facility is configured such that the space can be utilized to transfer articles by raising the vertically movable work platform to above the height at which work is performed and stowing it away when not performing a maintenance work. (See, for example, Patent Document 1).
And, in the article storage facility described above, the vertically movable work platform is typically suspended and supported by a plurality of suspension wires which are fed out from a rotated winding rotating body. And the facility is configured such that the vertically movable work platform is raised or lowered by a forward or reverse rotation of the winding rotating body.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-249204
In the article storage facility described above, since the vertically movable work platform is merely suspended and supported at two or more locations by the suspension wires fed out from the winding rotating body when the vertically movable work platform is lowered to the work height to perform a maintenance work, the work is difficult to perform when the operator performs the maintenance work on the vertically movable work platform because the platform sways easily and is unstable.
To this end, it may be contemplated to provide a support which receives and supports the vertically movable work platform, which is being lowered to the work height, to facilitate the maintenance work by improving the stability of the vertically movable work platform and making it difficult for the vertically movable work platform to sway when the operator performs a maintenance work on the vertically movable work platform by receiving and supporting the vertically movable work platform with the support.
However, if the vertically movable work platform is configured be received and supported by a support at the work height, as described above, and if the winding rotating body is further rotated in the direction that tends to lower the vertically movable work platform with the platform received and supported at the work height by the support, an excessive amount of the suspension wires for suspending and supporting the vertically movable work platform will be fed out from the winding rotating body and the wires will slacken. Because this causes the plurality of suspension wires wound by the winding rotating body to be wound improperly (irregular winding), which causes different suspension wires that are being fed out from the winding to be fed out by different amounts, the vertically movable work platform may tilt when it is raised from the work height.